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More Issues in St. Louis (Updated)

From First Thoughts

In connection with the ongoing controversy over the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod radio station KFUO’s pulling of the popular program Issues, Etc., which has been discussed in this space as well as a host of other blogs , a prayer service and a demonstration are planned for April 13 and 14, . . . . Continue Reading »

The True Cost of Discipleship

From First Thoughts

On this day sixty-three years ago, Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged (actually slowly asphyxiated to death) at Flossenburg Prison, a mere three weeks before it was liberated by Allied forces. Bonhoeffer had been imprisoned for his role in the July 20 Plot, the conspiracy . . . . Continue Reading »

George W. Bush: The Movie

From First Thoughts

As you may or may not know, Oliver Stone is making a film based on the life of the president, entitled W , starring Josh Brolin as Bush. It’s way too easy to begin with the jokes—not about W, but about W , and the director’s “gift” for creative re-imaginings: Think JFK . . . . Continue Reading »

Charlton Heston Is Dead

From First Thoughts

The man who parted the Red Sea, who dared dicker with his pontiff, who sought justice in a border town, who fought zombies, talking apes, and pagans: Charlton Heston is dead at age 84. Richard Corliss over at Time has a respectful overview of his life and career. Christianity Today film reviewer . . . . Continue Reading »

The Long Issues War

From First Thoughts

A blog has been started to investigate further the reasons for the cancellation of the popular KFUO.org radio progam Issues, Etc. . Among the bloggers is Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, whose Wall Street Journal piece located the cancellation within the context of larger denominational issues. Lutheran . . . . Continue Reading »

A Mirror Darkly

From the April 2008 Print Edition

Arts of Darkness:?American Noir and the Quest for Redemption by Thomas S. Hibbs Spence, 316 pages, $27.95 It has been said that cinema has become just another American religion, with multiplexes for cathedrals and auteurs for priests. Let’s grant the hyperbole but also concede that every . . . . Continue Reading »